It may work like this: Imagine a series of three steps.
On the first step, they either don't go to your Google Group, or they go, look around, say "meh", and leave. No upvotes.
On the second step, they go, look around a bit, register, and come back to the HN comment that led there, and upvote it.
On the third step, they go to the Google Group, look around, register, get engaged in the group... and because they got too engaged in the group, they forget to come back to the HN comment and upvote it. The result here is people join the group, but nobody upvotes the comment that led them there.
Is this what's happening? I have no idea.
(BTW: Michele, you're one of the very few people on HN that, when I see a post, I read it just because of who wrote it.)
I have terrible, terrible baggage over getting compliments in public and I have no idea whatsoever how to handle them. So, I feel like I am botching this, whether I reply to it or not. But I did want to acknowledge that I read it. It seems rude not to acknowledge it.
On the first step, they either don't go to your Google Group, or they go, look around, say "meh", and leave. No upvotes.
On the second step, they go, look around a bit, register, and come back to the HN comment that led there, and upvote it.
On the third step, they go to the Google Group, look around, register, get engaged in the group... and because they got too engaged in the group, they forget to come back to the HN comment and upvote it. The result here is people join the group, but nobody upvotes the comment that led them there.
Is this what's happening? I have no idea.
(BTW: Michele, you're one of the very few people on HN that, when I see a post, I read it just because of who wrote it.)